Police in Fredrikstad have charged the father of a 10-month-old baby with possible negligence and inflicting serious bodily injury, after allegedly placing the child outdoors on a cold winter night.
The baby’s mother has told police she found the child Sunday night lying outside the family’s home at Onsøy in Fredrikstad. The baby was described as “nearly lifeless” from the cold, and was flown to Norway’s national hospital in Oslo (Rikshospitalet), for treatment in its lung and heart machines. The child’s condition was unchanged on Tuesday and hospital officials couldn’t offer any prognoses regarding the chances for recovery.
Police initially said they had no reason to suspect criminal intention, but prosecutors filed charges on Monday, telling Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that the father is suspected of negligence, and that the child had “possibly been subjected to serious injury.” Police stressed to website VG.no, however, that they were not casting blame as yet, contending that the charges are a formality when an investigation is launched.
The investigation was continuing on Tuesday. The baby was said to have been placed outdoors in a baby carriage, which is common practice in Norway, but later may have fallen out of the carriage. The child reportedly was sent by air ambulance to Oslo Sunday evening, several hours before police were first summoned.
newsinenglish.no staff
